1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention is body positioners; more specifically, portable adjustable body positioner cushions.
2. The Prior Art
When a person is bedridden or mostly confined to a bed, either in a hospital or at home, for long periods of time, it is medically important tha the person be able to change his or her reclining angle and oft times to come to a sitting position without leaving the confines of the bed. If the person is fortunate to be bedridden in one of the larger more modern hospitals, it will generally have motorized or hand adjustable beds that allow tha patient to elevate the upper torso to various desired angles. Unfortunately, not all hospitals have these beds and even if they do, not all patients can afford the expense. Upon discharge from the hospital having motorized or hand adjustable beds many patients are still required to spend long periods of time restricted to a bed. Sometimes permanently. In these cases the majority of people can not afford (and often there are no provisions in their insurance for) the purchase of one of these adjustable beds. In these situations bedridden people must rely upon propping themselves up by stuffing conventional pillows behind their backs or purchasing conventional wedge-shaped cushions.
The use of conventional pillows stuffed behind the back to change the reclining position or the seating position is not satisfactory. Conventional pillows used in this manner do not have either the form or the resilience to provide the necessary postural support that is required to prevent undue physical stress to muscles, joints and connective tissues resulting in short term discomfort and microtrauma. When conventional pillows are used in this manner for extended periods of time, long term damage to those structures may even result. Use of conventional pillows for this purpose may also result in prolonged excessive pressures in small areas. In other words, the use of the conventional pillow stuffed behind the back generally fails to evenly distribute the body weight over the entire skin surface resting on the pillow. Instead, depending on how the conventional pillow is stuffed, the entire weight of the upper torso will be supported in a small area creating unusually high pressures on the skin in that one spot. Furthermore, the use of a conventional pillow stuffed behind the back cannot guarantee adequate air flow to the skin surface contacting the pillow. Because of the prolonged static pressures concentrated in small areas and the lack of air flow, extended use of conventional pillows stuffed behind ones back interferes with tissue (skin) nutrition, dramatically increasing the potential for bed sores and other skin problems. When using conventional pillows in this manner, there is also no mechanism which provides alternating external pressure to the skin in contact with the pillow. The provision of such alternating external pressure would improve blood circulation to the skin by intermittently reducing the external pressure on the skin to below that of skin capillary pressure actually facilitating better skin nutrition.
The use of conventional wedge-shaped cushions, while an improvement over the use of conventional pillows, is still not a complete solution. These conventional wedge-shaped cushions are only usable in two fixed positions. Viewed in cross-section, the prior art cushions typically are right triangles. Placing the short leg of the triangle on the bed, provides the user with a single seated position. Placing the long leg of the triangle on the bed, provides the user with a single slightly elevated reclined position. The problems with these prior art cushions generally begin when the person largely restricted to bed wants (or needs) to sit at a different angle or change the angle of the reclined position a little. The solution to date of course has been for the user to stuff a conventional pillow between himself/herself and the cushion, or behind the cushion and the bed. If the former solution is employed all of the problems inherent with the use of a conventional pillow come into play. If the latter solution is adopted, the conventional cushion becomes unstable and fails to provide the necessary support, or worse yet, forces the upper torso into an alignment that is detrimental to the joints, muscles and connective tissues of the back, neck or hips.
Thus, the prior art does not include an inexpensive way to provide multiple angles for sitting and reclining while still providing the proper support for controlled alignment and movement of the upper torso. Nor do the prior art solutions provide a mechanism for enhancing natural skin nutrition (aeration and capillary blood flow) during use.